Groundbreaking study on complex movements of enzymes
February 11, 2009A groundbreaking study has revealed in great detail how enzymes in the cell cooperate to make fat. These enzymes are integrated into a single molecular complex known as fatty acid synthase. This complex is regarded as a potential target for developing new anti-obesity and anti-cancer drugs.
Dr. Stuart Smith, at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, collaborated with Drs. Edward Brignole and Francisco Asturias from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. in a study published in the February 2009 edition of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology and featured on the cover of the journal.
"Fatty Acid Synthase is a remarkably complex structure. It contains all of the components needed to convert carbohydrates into fat," Dr. Smith explained. "We have suspected for some time that the enzyme complex is extremely flexible, which makes it difficult to analyze using X-ray crystallography. Last year the X-ray structure of the complex was solved by a group in Switzerland, but this structure provided only a snapshot of the complex in one of its many poses. We were able to use state-of-the-art electron microscopy to obtain images of the complex in many of its different conformations and assemble these images into a movie that displays the full range of motion of the components of the complex." The results reveal how enzymes that appear distantly located in the X-ray structure are able to make the contacts with each other needed for catalysis. The extraordinary swinging, swiveling and rolling motions of fatty acid synthase are represented on the cover of the journal in the form of a flamenco dancer.
Some pharmaceutical companies are focusing on inhibitors of fatty acid synthase because they are known to block the conversion of carbohydrates into fat and suppress appetite as well as slow the growth of cancer cells. Structural information garnered from X-ray and electron microscope images may aid in the design of more effective inhibitors that could be used therapeutically.
Source: Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
More news stories
Integrated pest management recommendations for the southern pine beetle
The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, is a chronic insect pest within pine forests in the southeastern United States. Under favorable environmental and host conditions, it is an agg ...
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...
15 hours ago |
4.5 / 5 (22) |
0
|
Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome
In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
|
The proteins ensuring genome protection
Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have discovered the crucial role of two proteins in developing a cell 'anti-enzyme shield'. This protection system, which operates at the level of molecular ...
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2010, Svante Pääbo and his colleagues presented a draft version of the genome from a small fragment of a human finger bone discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. The ...
Feb 07, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (60) |
51
|
Rapunzel, Leonardo and the physics of the ponytail
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research provides the first mathematical understanding of the shape of a ponytail and could have implications for the textile industry, computer animation and personal care products.
Cognitive impairment in older adults often unrecognized in the primary care setting
A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reveals that brief cognitive screenings combined with offering further evaluation increased new diagnoses of cognitive impairment in older veterans two to ...
AT&T customers surprised by 'unlimited data' limit
(AP) -- Mike Trang likes to use his iPhone 4 as a GPS device, helping him get around in his job. Now and then, his younger cousins get ahold of it, and play some YouTube videos and games.
Climate change causes harmful algal blooms in North Atlantic: study
Warming oceans and increases in windiness could be causing of an abundance of harmful algal blooms in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea, according to new research.
Many lung cancer patients get radiation therapy that may not prolong their lives
A new study has found that many older lung cancer patients get treatments that may not help them live longer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that p ...
Young adults allowed to stay on parents' health insurance have improved access to care
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that laws permitting children to stay on their parents' health insurance through age 26 result in improved access to health care compared to states without those ...